Jocko87

Went live last night and I don't see it. He has a very advanced approach and sprays line drives all over.

Its top 3 in the Cy Young or MVP for a pre-arb. The Mariners got the 29th pick and 2.55m in pool money for J-Rod rookie of the year. The Braves lost out on Micheal Harris as he didn't have enough service time, not sure if he was a qualified prospect though. Ryan does seem like the last hope for this year but it will be very interesting to see how they handle promotions going forward. The whole point is to get the young talent up quick so there will be competition. I kinda think this program makes it possible a Brooks Lee might break camp with the Twins next year. It might also affect how quickly prospects are pushed through the lower levels too. To get on the prospect rankings lists they will have to be fast movers. I was thinking about that watching Raya pitch last night. He was just on the IL and is still on an innings limit but was promoted anyway. It seems odd to bring a very young pitcher back from the IL and promote him to AA. I haven't seen anything about why but one benefit would be that it raises his prospect status. Who knows.

Was nice to get out to see Raya and Festa in person last night. Raya looks very efficient. I was wondering if he would look high effort at his size but the delivery seems very smooth and easy. Sat comfy at 95 and the change at 88 got some Bugs Bunny swings. Firm pitch count limit still, he was not appearing to tire when he came out. Festa was fun, easy 97. Looks good too. Brooks Lee looks like Brooks Lee. Robbed by a really good catch on the line out to right. Yunior played functional 2nd base.

I mean, they are closing the stadium? I get that its a bonus but it still gets the job done.

Plouffe called it out at least. He said that's a pitch you have to put a swing on. That one is on Gallo. Swing hard, just in case.

Everything I see from the hitters looks like vapor lock. Thinking not reacting.

Clear step down from Provus but Provus is also excellent. It may be one of those jobs like NFL QB, lots can do it but only a couple dozen that are actually any good at it. I was listening to some draft on the radio while traveling and they would play radio highlight calls, like that has any value to a listener. Whoof. Most of those guys make Atteberry sound like prime Scully. Its a tough job.

Usually the moon but sometimes the stars have to do. Sometimes you just get the darkness but we are used to that.

The beauty would be that Micheal A Taylor would be an absolute weapon off the bench. If you could pick the pitch run, defense replacement spot each game he could be very useful, especially if replacing a Wallner type. I think it's his optimal role. That does require Buxton to stay healthy in center. We would all be nervous expecting something to snap but if it's a chronic issue pretty soon the down sides won't matter, assuming he's not at risk of further injury to the knees. They will have to roll him out until he can't do it at which point he's probably done for the year. I'm assuming if it's a chronic issue it's mostly pain and function management and not something they are scared of snapping.

Again, I'll expect the same vigor towards the folks who claim the front office tells the hitters what to do (some even in this thread). We have nothing that tells us anything remotely like that but somehow it's gospel. Just be thankful some people have the training and experience to read between the lines and are willing to share on this forum. My comments are always aimed towards what's likely rather than the fantic fire everyone. My experience happens to be very applicable to this situation.

Yup, and from my vantage point the piece that's missing is the old school guy. Someone needs to be stealing signs, seeing tipped pitches and that kind of thing. The data is great but it needs context to be used properly.

I never caped up for Nelly, my initial suggestion was Molitor. You’re getting stuck on the example, not the idea. Of course it has to be the right person, but as the article points out, what are the options available?

I’ll expect that same energy for the Rocco as a powerless puppet crowd. Meanwhile, I interviewed Nelson over the weekend and it turns out that you’re completely correct. He knows nothing about hitting, talking about hitting or figuring out what a pitcher is up too. The part about Popkins not having major league experience was on Wikipedia.

Observatory skills and experience. Buxton, Correa and Vazquez at career norms is worth several wins already. Don't forget Miranda either. He's been so bad we all tried to forget.

I’m not sure Cruz would be a good coach but that’s not what I want him to do. They are distinctly different skills. I want him to translate, dissect pitchers and simplify. Popkins is still the coach but Cruz is rich in the exact skills he is lacking. I don’t buy the talent argument in the least. Were they performing at an approximate level of career averages this is a 95 win team. One more run a game is top 5 in the league. That is out there for this team if they get close to career averages. I’ll even go out on a limb and say this team could go on a Braves or Phillies like run down the stretch. Full agreement on Rowson. If we should learn anything about this it’s that the 2019 season can be discarded as an outlier.

I’m not in favor of outright firing Popkins. He obviously has a talent that got him this position at 33 and you should never fire someone you over promoted and hung out to dry. It’s a great way to create a toxic environment and if you believed in the talent you would still want to develop it. Frankly we should not be surprised that major league pitching is out thinking him. I’m assuming he has tremendous promise but it does need development. My read is that he is probably very good technically but can’t possibly be major league good at strategy, adjustments or communication which is where the struggles are. The hitting result feels very much like information overload, too much thinking when milliseconds matter. I’ve suggested a few times bring Molly or Cruz in as a special assistant. It would be a great match of new and old school and filter the information to a concise message that can be executed on. It also allows the Twins to make a tacit admission of a mistake without throwing out the bath water. This type of thing happens with young executives all the time. There are entire industries around developing leaders. Even very successful CEO types have personal coaches. It’s just a shame the Twins put him in a situation he couldn’t possibly be ready for. Honestly I would suggest developing him is one of Rocco’s jobs but I’m reliably informed he just fills out line up cards.🙄 Interestingly as well, Rocco may not realize that is his role. He’s not much higher on the experience scale than Popkins. When he ranted about not making adjustments all I can hear is that he is responsible for making sure the adjustments are being made. To answer the question related to the former Yankees guy. No. Same thing. The voice needed is old school.

Working out great for Torkelson I’d say. A .656 OPS and negative WAR in almost 200 ML games isn’t exactly an example to emulate. He may still be good and he was dominant in the low minors as you would expect a college player to be but his time in the minors was not injury interrupted either. He also plays the easiest position on the field. He probably wouldn’t be up except for being a Tiger. What I’m saying is that if they screw with Royce too much he will end up Torkelson. Or Tim Beckham. Or Delmon Young.

To carry on the analogy, Donald Rumsfeld never met a defense contractor he wouldn't buy something from. It would be a terrible General that wouldn't implement a new weapon if it became available.

Goldy in a landslide. Arenado might be cheaper though considering the contracts. It’s a lot of money.

It’s not exactly a common situation. 38 games isn’t quite forever. I’d be fine if the transition to CF started this offseason but we would still have to recognize its a big ask. Ask Jazz Chisholm and Fernando Tatis Jr. They were already established as hitters at least.

Agreed but it’s an example of his experience curve being short circuited. I would wager that he has the least game experience of any 24yo former #1 overall and it matters. I would argue the awkward running on the ACL is the same thing. It could happen at anytime but we have to minimize those situations at the ML level. It’s the whole reason the minor leagues exist.

Lost in all the back and forth of this we seem to be forgetting the most important part. Staying on the infield is the smart thing to do and they are doing it. Period. End of story. It may be that he goes to the outfield eventually. It would be dumb to do it mid-season, barely back from rehab. He's not superman. Remember the 40 odd games played total in 3-4 years or whatever it is? He is already making minor league adjustments in the major leagues, at a new position and his head has to be swimming. Adding another position change to the mix would be borderline malpractice. The play were he lands on his face was purely an experience related mistake. Yes, it was a horrible play by an inexperienced first baseman but the contact could have been minimized. Next time we won't be so lucky. Its not a video game. Boras says nothing out of line here and everyone is doing the thing in the best interests of all involved. The short term lineup flexibility is nothing compared to the long term development of a #1 overall pick.

From another thread. There is no way they will fire Popkins without some interim steps first. If they believed in him enough to hire at 33 they still believe in him long term. You may not like it but its the smart move. New entry for the type of role here is Nelson Cruz. Simplify the message. Nelly is the walking billboard for the Popkins way.

I watched a bunch of Cardinals games when I lived in Illinois, he is only behind Buxton in players fun to watch play defense for me. It's spectacular in person, so easy for him. The middling prospect here with Miranda is Julien and I would do that in a second. Get them to throw a couple youngsters somewhere to balance it out. Lewis plays 2nd as Polo comes and goes and bounces around the infield. CF maybe next year but I don't like moving him mid-season. All of a sudden that infield defense will be what we expected the outfield to be. Contract is reasonable, but how do the deferred payments work for the years not yet incurred? Assuming they come with for the remainder of the years unless negotiated?

In a land where left handed hitting corner outfielders seem to grow on trees I’m not the biggest fan of spending this much capital on a common good, unless you can get ahold of a superstar. Here’s to hoping he can fulfill the potential. That said, I’d have made the same pick and am very glad nobody got cute. I really like what I’m reading and hearing about him so far, especially universal 80 grade makeup. Seems like the Twins were on him all along, with Cuddyer help. Also, sounds like a very advanced, unTwinslike approach at the plate.